[Name
Age
Birthplace; Hometown; Where have you lived in France? (City, town, or countryside)
Basic information: education level, job, living with family/partner/roommate/alone/etc., living situation]*
*All problematic in terms of identifiable subjects. Would require complete disclosure by interviewees or the omission of personal, identifiable information.
How many years have you lived in NYC?
What was your principal motivation/reason for moving to NYC (from France)? (What other reasons played into your decision to move to NYC? Can you rank them from most decisive reasons to least? If you were really torn between moving to NYC and not, what was/were the deciding reason(s)?)
Did you live elsewhere outside of France before moving to New York? In the U.S.? Why did you move there? Did you expect to move to NYC later on?
Why did you choose NYC?
How long do you plan to stay in NYC? Why?
Did you experience culture shock? If so, what kind? Elaborate.
Are you involved in the French expatriate community? If yes, how so? Why or why not?
What do you like about NYC? What is your favorite part of living here? (Specific to NYC and specific to the U.S.)
What do you dislike about NYC? What is your least favorite part of living here? (Specific to NYC and specific to the U.S.)
Where do you live in NYC? Why did you choose this neighborhood? What were your first impressions of the neighborhood?
Have you lived elsewhere in NYC before moving to this location? Why did you choose to live there? Why did you move?
Do you want to live in another neighborhood in the foreseeable future? If yes, where and why?
Are there a lot of French people where you live?
What are your hobbies in NYC? How are they similar or different from your hobbies in France?
Has your lifestyle changed in any significant way living in NYC?
Is that, in your opinion, a result of a change in environment, specifically a different in the French and New York cultures?
If your lifestyle/hobbies hasn’t/haven’t changed, what do you think is the reason?
How has the change in environment/moving to NYC affected you?
If in a family, have you or your parents retained French culture within the household? If you are the in the last generation, do you intend to pass on the culture/traditions to the next generation? If yes, what aspects? If not, why not?
What was the most shocking experience in your time here?
Describe any memorable experiences in NYC that spurned from cultural differences, misunderstandings, or anything related to French cultural places/events/people in NYC.
Do you consider yourself an expatriate, immigrant, foreign national, etc?
What is the difference between those terms, in your opinion?
Who do you consider French (people born in France, living/lived in France for a long time but not citizens, citizens but not of French ethnicity/nationality/background, French ethnicity/nationality/background but born elsewhere, etc.)?
For those who have lived in NYC/the U.S. for a long period time (more than ten years or longer than time spent in France), do you still consider yourself French? Or do you consider yourself French-American or something else? Why?
For those who moved to the U.S. at a very young age, do you consider yourself French, French-American, or American?
For those who were born in the U.S., what do you consider yourself?
Why?
What are some odd and/or funny experiences you’ve had regarding French culture/your own cultural differences in NYC?
Who do you typically or primarily hang out with people in NYC? French transplants? Americans? Other foreigners? A mix? Why?
Do you find yourself generally surrounded by French people? If yes, why do you think that is? If not, why? (Do you put yourself out there to make a variety of friends?)
How are you connected to the French people that you know?
Do you encounter a lot of French people? If yes, how, why, and where?
How well do you think you have adapted to NYC?
Where are your favorite places to hang out in NYC? What places do you frequent?
If you go to school or work, where?
What is your typical day/week like?
